What Does The 27th Amendment State ?
The 27th Amendment is the last one in the US Constitution. It goes under the name of Congressional Compensation Amendment of 1789, and also the Congressional Pay Amendment. It is also called the Madison Amendment as it was proposed by former President James Madison of Virginia. |
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It was initially proposed in the original Bill of Rights on September 25, 1789. The proposal did not pass, and as it had no expiry date, it sat awaiting a situation to call upon it again. 80 years later, Ohio ratified it to object a pay hike in the Congress. Sadly, no other state followed suit. Wyoming ratified it in 1978, but again there were no followers. It was in the early 1980s that an aide to a Texas legislator by the name of Gregory Watson took up the amendment again. Finally, the required number of states approved of it, and the Amendment came to be on May 7, 1992.
The 27th Amendment states that no law can increase or decrease the pay given to the Senators and Representatives, until there is an election for the next set of terms for the office for Representatives. So, even is the Congress votes for a hike in salary, it will not take effect until after the elections. The elections are held every two years for the House of Representatives, and the public can use this time to decide whether they are happy with their Congressmen. Senators are elected for 6-year terms.
This Amendment was sanctioned to restrain the power of the Congress to set its own salary. However, it has not been that effective as Congress has set up a Cost of Living Allowance (COLA), which is not related to their pay.
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